MWC 2016: Everything You Wanted To Know About The Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge

Samsung has announced the new Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge — successors to its existing Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge at an event held at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. The arrival of these two models have been rumored for a long time, and as many expected, they came with minor feature additions. Those expecting a major redesign or upgrades to features might feel a tad underwhelmed looking at the specifications of the two devices. That said, almost everyone seems to have welcomed two features that went missing with last year’s models: expandable memory and water resistance. That’s right. The Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge get memory card slots and the much loved IP68 water resistance feature.

Read on to find out what’s new with the two new phones. But then, if you are in a hurry, you might want to watch this video from Samsung that briefly explains the capabilities of the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge.

Display and Size

The Samsung Galaxy S7 packs in a 5.1-inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel Super AMOLED display that endows with it a PPI density of 577. The phone is 7.9mm thick and weighs in at a comfortable 157 grams. The new model is also slightly more curvier than the outgoing Galaxy S6.

Unlike the The Galaxy S7, which is quite similar to the older device, the Galaxy S7 Edge is quite different from its predecessor. The display on the S7 Edge is larger than the S6 Edge with the new device getting a curved, 5.5-inch Super AMOLED panel. Even with the larger display and the new features, the Galaxy S7 Edge is thinner than the S6 Edge. However, it is a tad heavier than the older device. Both the phones now boast of an “Always On Display” feature, similar to the one on LG devices. Perhaps, the most interesting addition is the fact that both the phones are now IP68 water and dust resistant. This means you can easily take your S7 and the S7 Edge for a photo session in the pool.

Processor, RAM, and Hardware

Like in the case of its previous generation flagship devices, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge would come in two different versions. While the versions headed for Europe and the U.S. would get the powerful Snapdragon 820 SoC, the S7 and the S7 Edge headed for the Asian markets would be powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 8890 chip. Initial benchmarks performed on the S7 Edge with the Exynos chip has resulted in great performance improvements. Both the phones also get 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM.

You can buy both the phones in two different memory capacities: 32GB and 64GB. Thankfully, this time, Samsung has decided not to do away with the much-required microSD card slot that would let you expand your storage further. Samsung had managed to anger many of its hardcore users when they decided to scrap the memory card slot in their 2015 lineup.

Camera and Imaging

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge get a 12MP sensor at the rear that takes care of the imaging department. While it may seem low on megapixel count, Samsung says it has made multiple innovations to ensure you take some really good pictures on both the phones. Both the phones now get f1.7 aperture. Low light imaging is enhanced with a new technology that Samsung terms “Dual Pixels.” The devices also get Smart OIS (Optical Image Stablization) and a new Motion Panorama feature. The camera at the front can take 5MP images.

Battery

The battery capacities on both the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge have been increased. While the S7 gets a 3,000 mAH battery, the larger S7 Edge gets a 3,600 mAH battery, which, coupled with the newer processors, should offer an overall better battery life compared to the older phones. Both the phones also support Wireless and wired fast Charging thanks to the support for WPC and PMA standards.

Connectivity

On the connectivity front, the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge shine. As expected of flagship devices, the phones support Dual-band Wi-Fi ac, MIMO, Bluetooth v.4.2, ANT+ and support for both NFC and MST. They also get the Samsung Pay feature. Oh, and those worried about Samsung following the USB Type C Bandwagon, it seems they are still happy with the existing micro USB standard at least for now. So yes, you can use your older cables with the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge.

Software

Over the years, Samsung has toned down its TouchWiz UI that ran on its smartphones. The trend continues this year as well. The Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge run Android 6.0 Marshmallow underneath the TouchWiz interface. The S7 Edge gets an improved Edge platform that promises better apps that can be used on the Edge of the display. The devices also supports the Vulkan API for graphics and gaming.

Pricing and Availability

Samsung confirmed that the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will be available on Friday, March 11. You can preorder the device starting February 23.

[Images Via Samsung Mobile Press]